


Along For The Ride

by big_slug



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Character Death, Coping, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29616486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/big_slug/pseuds/big_slug
Summary: One final time. He swears this is the last time. As the dog days of summer roll over Hawkins with all the fire and humidity this continent has to offer, as Mike Wheeler hugs his parents goodbye, he is hit by the overwhelming need to look back one more time.
Relationships: Joyce Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	Along For The Ride

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know, I was feeling sad and had a half hour of time on hand to write something. This is what happened.  
> I'm sorry, everyone.

One final time. He swears this is the last time. As the dog days of summer roll over Hawkins with all the fire and humidity this continent has to offer, as Mike Wheeler hugs his parents goodbye, he is hit by the overwhelming need to look back one more time. On his way out of town, Mike takes his detour down a gravel path, back to the small house that used to be his second home at some point in his life. It all feels so long ago now, and the distance is going to grow, expanding at ever increasing speed just like the space separating galaxies.

Joyce Byers is there, slowly creeping out of the house and out on her porch. She shows Mike the faintest nod as she lights another cigarette with slightly trembling hands. Mike nods back at her gravely, and then he makes his way around the house where the trees soon protect him from the sun with their shade. He could walk this way blindfolded. Sometimes Mike imagines himself as a ninety year old man, hunched over dragging himself along with a cane, blind like a mole, but even then he would be able to find his way here. That mental image frightens him. He needs to put an end to this.

Not far from the house is the little cave made out of tree branches, boards and plastic sheets. It has survived the test of time due to its sheltered location and only occasional use. Mike stops in front of it with a hand reaching out for the entrance. _„Radagast...“_ he thinks. _„Radagast...“_

Mike could not explain what it is that lets him know when he has permission, but he _does_ know. Something tells him, and the feeling is so all-encompassing that it has to be real. Mike crawls into the small shelter, his limbs now long enough to make it a tight fit even when he is alone. It never is comfortable anymore, also because this place is now empty, void of the blankets and pillows that used to plaster the floor. Or is it just that eighteen year old Mike is more sensitive to uncomfortable sitting accommodations than twelve year old Mike?

He comes to a rest with his back against the tree, and Mike closes his eyes. It won‘t take long, and he knows the outcome in advance, but tries anyways. At least this one final, ultimate time before he leaves. „Should I stay or should I go now...“ Mike whispers into the thick air. Then, with colorful patterns swirling in his closed eyes, he waits. He listens to the woods, and he listens to that gaping hole in his chest. Inside and out, there is nothing. The air doesn‘t answer and the hole doesn‘t fill up.

„Should I stay or should I go now...“ The silence and the emptiness are here to stay. A part of Mike has accepted that long ago, and now that he is leaving, he can at least leave the silence behind. As for the emptiness... „I‘ll manage.“ he says. „I just wanted you to know I‘ll manage.“ Mike swallows the clump that is stuck in his throat, and with a firmer voice he says „I‘ll go now.“

Back at the house, Joyce is waiting for him. _Was she always this small?_ The cigarette is gone now, only the smell lingers as she embraces Mike fiercely. „Do you think you‘d be leaving together? Do you think he‘d be in this car with you?“

„I can imagine.“ Mike says, looking over her shoulder and at the empty passenger seat. „It‘s a long drive. I‘m pretty sure I‘m going to imagine.“

„Just be safe, okay? And don‘t be a stranger.“

„I‘ll visit you when I‘m back in town.“ Mike promises solemnly. „But... Joyce, I‘ll never go into the woods again.“ As much as he would like to stay, he detaches himself from her. He has never told her this, but in the past, whenever he left her like this, he thought she should move. Mike sees this little woman in front of her almost vacant house in the middle of nowhere, and he thinks she should leave it all behind, just like he is doing now. But Mike knows he can‘t make her.

The drive takes a full nine hours. And from the moment he leaves Hawkins behind to the second he pulls up in front on his apartment, Mike can feel a presence in the seat next to him. Almost as if his best friend had come along for the ride after all.


End file.
